Happy Birthday to Colton. Little bug turned 1 on March 13th. Everyone (except Ryan) has a nasty cold that has been hanging around for weeks. Colt had a fever, cough and a runny nose on his birthday but still managed to take down a cupcake and all the frosting. It was a low key birthday with all of us being sick, but overall it was nice to celebrate with just our little family. Ryan and I are shocked and amazed that Colton is 1 already. Time really does fly by. After a year, here are some of Colton's favorite things:

Blocks (knocking them down after someone has stacked them)

Payton - she is by far his favorite person

Favorite Food: Ham, green beans and prunes

Sleeping (every night from about 8pm to 8am, then a 2-3 hour morning nap and a 1 hour afternoon nap)

Milk - we kicked the bottle habit and formula a couple weeks before his 1st birthday

Bath time

Any toy that Payton is playing with (and she usually wants any toy he is playing with)

Colt is not yet walking. He pulls himself up to a standing position easily, but doesn't stand for very long on his own. He is the fastest crawler that I have ever seen, so at the moment, he doesn't see a need to walk. And just in case you are wondering, here is a link to Payton's First Birthday pictures.

We also made some good progress on the loft addition this weekend (March 13th). Jerry came over and textured the ceiling. So on Colt's birthday we were able to paint the ceiling and now it matches the rest of the house. It looks great, it really looks like it has always been there. The railing upstairs will be finished soon, then we can lay the floor and move the kids' play stuff into the new loft.

Update - March 28th - We (Jerry and Ryan) finished the kids' play room this past weekend. Jerry finished up the railing on Saturday the 26th, then he helped Ryan put in the flooring on Sunday. We loaded it up with kids toys, the TV that Aunt Corey gave us, the easel and the table and chairs. We still need to do a little decorating, but as of this moment, it is a fully functioning kids play room! Ryan and I have claimed back part of the house and can finally have some room in our house without kids toys all over the place. It feels great to be done, but now we are looking around the house wonder what project we should tackle next. :)

Colt also had his 1 year doctor appointment today (the 28th). He got 4 shots. Only cried until the nurse gave him an animal cracker, then everything was fine again. He is 95% in height and head size (the kid has the head the size of a 2yr old) and is in the 75% for weight (24 lbs 11 oz).

The pain...Colt had a little traumatic experience this weekend. We were having dinner at the Teshera's and Colt smacked his chin on the coffee table and bit his tongue in the process. It was gushing blood and I think the adult reaction scared him as much as the actual event. Ryan and Karen ran him into the bathroom and put ice on his tongue. Then he had an otter pop to keep the cold on his tongue and eventually was fine. That was the first time I had seen a lot of blood coming out of him and let's just say my reaction is more flight than fight. He does have 2 very distinct teeth marks on his tongue which you can see when he smiles big. This comes right on the heels of Colt giving himself a black eye when he pulled a toy down from the toy box onto his face. And on the heels of PJ falling down the back stairs at Karen's house and giving herself a nasty bruise on her shin and on her knee. We were in a world of hurt this March... must be spring time. PJ was also telling Karen that "Daddy gave Colt the black eye" and that "Daddy pushed her down the stairs." We have to make sure she tells the whole story or else daddy is starting to look like a very bad man. :)